C-295 plane deal for IAF

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has several proposals to be put up before the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) which include C-295 transport aircraft which are meant to replace the ageing Avro C-295 plane deal in final stages

The other major IAF deals pending approval are the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for 114 fighter jets and the fresh proposal for six mid-air refuellers.

Why these deal a necessity?

The IAF has 56 Avro transport aircraft which are in urgent need of replacement.

Under the present deal, 16 will be built by a foreign Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and the remaining 40 to be built in the country by an Indian manufacturer under transfer of technology.

The sole bid by Airbus and Tata with the C-295 aircraft was approved by the DAC in May 2015, but the contractual negotiations have been repeatedly delayed. The Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued to global firms in May 2013.

This deal has become even more critical as a separate project to jointly co-develop and produce a Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) of 20 tonnes with Russia to replace the An-32s in service was scrapped after initial design discussions.

The An-32s which are the workhorse of the IAF are currently being upgraded under a $400 mn deal finalised with Antonov state corporation of Ukraine in 2009.

Deal in a nutshell with India: –

Indian Air Force- It will be operating 56 C-295W.

An order for 56 was finalised on 13 May 2015 by the Indian Ministry of Defense.

The first 16 C-295s will be brought in fly away condition; the remaining 40 will be manufactured in India in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems.

In March 2019, as price negotiations were concluded, the order was raised to a total of 62, with 6 aircraft for Indian Coast Guard.

About C-295 plane: –

The EADS CASA C-295 is a twin-turboprop tactical military transport aircraft, and is currently manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in Spain.

The C-295 made its maiden flight in 1998. The first order came from the Spanish Air Force.

In the base C-295 design, the adoption of winglets and an ability to carry the Marte anti-ship missile and a dedicated airborne early warning and control variant was also planned.

In January 2016, Airbus was in the process of developing a new in-flight refuelling, this capability is being promoted for the aerial refuelling of combat helicopters.

Current status of the deal: –

In response to a request for information from the Indian Air Force for 56 transport planes at $2.4 billion to replace an ageing fleet of 55 Hawker Siddeley HS 748, Airbus announced on 28 October 2014 that it would bid for the contract with the C-295.

On 13 May 2015, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved purchase of C-295. The first 16 planes under the deal will be directly procured from the vendor and the remaining 40 planes will be produced locally in India by Tata Advanced Systems.

However, as of February 2019, cabinet clearance was still awaited, keeping in mind cost negotiation, cash crunch,alternatives and indigenization demands .

In March 2019, price negotiations between India and Airbus were concluded, and a total of 62 aircraft was decided to be purchased.